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Two or three people gathered around a large pot of mixed filling. Zhuang Xiaodie was the slowest among the group, pressing the wrapper tightly with two fingers, creating wavy folds as she wrapped the filling. By the time she finished one, the person opposite her had already finished three. She'd always encountered absences when she came to work, and she'd thought she was an expert.
Shentu Hai sent a message half an hour ago: Is it really okay for your friend to sleep like this?
Zhuang Xiaodie replied to her: Let her sleep.
It wasn't out of consideration, but rather a sense of luck. The less she was out, the less likely she would discover what she was doing. As long as she could get through these few days safely and wait for Nian Jinsi to return, she would be fine. She was married and had a studio; she had to go back eventually.
Meeting after so many years wasn't as different as Zhuang Xiaodie had imagined. Nian Jinsi hadn't asked her to meet him at the airport, and when she called, she was already there—under the bridge, at the address Shentu Hai had sent her. Zhuang Xiaodie ran over from the dumpling shop and spotted her from a distance. She was wearing a black T-shirt, jeans, and a baseball cap, carrying only a white canvas bag stained with paint.
Nian Jinsi stood straight. Zhuang Xiaodie approached and noticed that she was pursing her lips. The two looked at each other and smiled. Zhuang Xiaodie subconsciously thought that Nian Jinsi had a very standard smile, with eight teeth. She suddenly remembered how she looked like when she had braces in elementary school. At that time, Nian Jinsi carefully pursed her lips, and Zhuang Xiaodie had never seen her show a single tooth until the braces were removed.
They didn't say much as Zhuang Xiaodie took her back. On the way, they chatted about trivial topics, like nearby attractions and delicious food, with a few glimpses of their own lives sprinkled in. Nian Jinsi kept looking around, her gaze occasionally lingering on certain places before quickly retracting.
That evening they were having dinner at home, Zhuang Xiaodie cooking, Shentu Hai helping, and Nian Jinsi curled up on the sofa and fell asleep. Thinking about it now, there was a deep sense of fatigue on her face, but she hadn't noticed it at the time. When dinner was almost over, Zhuang Xiaodie asked Shentu Hai to wake Nian Jinsi while she took the dishes out. At that moment, Nian Jinsi let out a scream and fell off the sofa with a thud.
Shentu Hai half-stretched his hand, barely able to retract it. Zhuang Xiaodie ran over to help Nian Jinsi up, but she, with a look of panic, instinctively moved away. The already awkward atmosphere grew tense, the air thickening. Shentu Hai was the first to return to the table and sit down, silent. But Zhuang Xiaodie knew she was staring.
Nian Jinsi sat on the ground for a while before coming to his senses. When he raised his face, his expression returned to normal and he smiled at Zhuang Xiaodie. The usual eight teeth. Zhuang Xiaodie suddenly felt an inexplicable disgust for this smile, but just smiled back. Nian Jinsi went back to the table first to talk to Shentu Hai. Zhuang Xiaodie waited for Shentu Hai to answer before sitting down at the table. Shentu Hai was very silent during the meal, and Nian Jinsi held the chopsticks for a long time without moving, as if he had fallen asleep. Zhuang Xiaodie was happy not to talk and ate very quickly.
Not long after dinner, Nian Jinsi fell asleep again while sitting on the sofa. When Zhuang Xiaodie helped her back to the room, her fingers slipped on her arm, leaving a purple mark. Before she could react, Nian Jinsi had already withdrawn her hand, smiling at her while covering the spot. Zhuang Xiaodie didn't ask in the end. Nian Jinsi slept for two days in a row, except for one day when she got up in the early morning to eat some cookies, she almost slept in the room. Zhuang Xiaodie slept on the sofa for two days in a row.
She was very happy that she didn't have to face Nian Jinsi, but at the same time, she was thinking about the scars on the other's arm.
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Nian Jinsi is very strong-willed and never admits defeat. Her unwillingness to admit defeat is silent, always quiet, like a snake lurking in the grass, not realizing it until it is bitten.
Nian Jinsi used to dislike drawing; it was Zhuang Xiaodie who did. She would draw small comics she found amusing, depicting little things in life, cats, dogs, and birds she'd encountered, and circulate them around the class. Her drawings were cute, round, and relatable, and many of her classmates liked them. During breaks, people would often sit by her side to watch her draw, and some even asked her to draw cats and dogs for their social media profiles. At the time, Zhuang Xiaodie paid little attention to Nian Jinsi's opinion. She was so focused on her own painting that she didn't know when Nian Jinsi stopped sitting next to her, didn't remember when he stopped being the first person to look at her paintings, and didn't notice that the crowds around her were dwindling. One day, she looked up from her painting, and there was no one around her. The people who had gathered around Nian Jinsi's seat would occasionally exclaim in amazement.
Zhuang Xiaodie walked over. The classmates’ heads were close together, huddled together like a cactus. She stood there for a while, her heart pounding like a drum, but she didn’t have the courage to stick her head out to look. By chance, a classmate was called away by the teacher. In the gap left, Zhuang Xiaodie caught a glimpse of the sketchbook on Nian Jinsi’s desk, as well as a half-finished painting. Only then did she realize that Nian Jinsi had been learning sketching for a while. Nian Jinsi might have noticed that she was standing next to her and looking at her painting, or she might not have noticed at all, because she never raised her head. Zhuang Xiaodie didn’t know. She felt like her feet were rooted and she couldn’t move. Until the bell rang and the classmates dispersed, she ran away.
After that, more people gathered around Nian Jinsi, and Zhuang Xiaodie stopped visiting her. She also stopped bringing her sketchbook to school, and she no longer circulated her drawings around the class during recess. Gradually, she stopped drawing.
Later one evening after school, when Nian Jinsi handed her the notebook filled with drawings, she was able to show an expression of approval, even though she found the smile on Nian Jinsi's face very annoying.
That was when she was in fifth grade. Zhuang Xiaodie still remembers very clearly the expression on Nian Jinsi's face when he handed her the notebook. It was so clear that it seemed as if a camera was placed against her face to record it and save it, and it would play in her mind every once in a while.
Now she can still see clearly that the setting sun shines on Nian Jinsi's face. The fine hairs on her face almost melt in the sunlight, and the curve of her mouth shines like a scimitar.
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Zhuang Xiaodie didn't tell Shentu Hai about the man she'd seen that day. Fundamentally, no matter her motive, she didn't want to be involved in this matter. After Nian Jinsi left, she could move out of Shentu Hai's house and continue her life of lying down, back under that bridge. And Shentu Hai didn't have to kill anyone. Instead, she could return to school and continue her studies. She loved painting so much, she should stick with it.
Shentu Hai has been painting at home lately. She says that she earns a living by painting for commissions, and besides that, she gets up early every day to practice, never slacking off.
Zhuang Xiaodie never disturbed her when she was painting, and hoped that she could continue painting.
After work, Zhuang Xiaodie returned home with a few baskets of dumplings stuffed with fresh meat, corn, and shrimp. The boss had given them to her, perfect for dinner. She walked with her head down, her mind preoccupied with Nian Jinsi and Shentu Hai, and nearly bumped into someone. She looked up and froze when she saw the person in front of her.
It was the man Shentu Hai was looking for. He glanced at her casually and walked away. Zhuang Xiaodie turned around, turned at the intersection in front of her, and walked straight for a while, and she arrived at Shentu Hai's residential area.
Is it a coincidence?
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